


Family Of Her Own

by Stuffedpup



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3938437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stuffedpup/pseuds/Stuffedpup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's been a few times Skye thought she found a family. They haven't worked out very well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Of Her Own

Mary is four when she learns what “mom” means.

She’s heard the word before. In the books the sisters would read at story time, on TV, and from new adults asking her “we’re your new mommy and daddy.”

Mom never meant anything before now though.

There’s a new sister at St. Agnes, young and full of life, a beautiful woman genuinely devoted to God and caring for his children. Three months ago, Sister Anne began her time with the children in the orphanage. Mary loves feeling Sister Anne brush her hair and adores how she soothes her nightmares. Sister Anne doesn’t roll her eyes when she says she doesn’t like the name Mary Sue. The other sisters move so quickly, trying their hardest to move along each child as quickly as possible. Sister Anne, though, will listen and talk, even though Mary sometimes struggles to find her words.

Mary has never called someone mom before. She’s watched other children do it, older children reunited with their family, younger ones adjusting to calling new parents by titles rather than names.

She knows from television that kids’ first words are usually mom, or dad, or something of that line. Mary doesn’t remember her first word; neither do the nuns.

She thinks about what it would be like if Sister Anne was her mom. If she could tuck her in at night, play all the games Mary knew, and talk about the dreams Mary has.

(The ones of someone singing to her gently, feeling a soft sway as if she’s being held, rocked back and forth as she slept.)

(But she doesn’t remember anything like that either.)

Mary considers it for a long time. Three whole days. She knows calling someone “mom” is special; she has seen new parents tear up and smile when their new child hesitantly calls them mom and dad.

On the third day, Mary makes the decision to ask Sister Anne if she could be her mom. She decides to wait until after dinner, when all the other children were off playing before lights out. Sister Anne was on clean up tonight, in the kitchen cleaning the plates with some of the older kids. A smile on her face, she laughed as someone told her a joke. Mary hides behind the doorway, watching and shaking with excitement.

Bracing herself, Mary moves to step away from the door, intent on completing her mission. Just as she moves to enter the kitchen, a voice calls out behind her, saying her name. She turns, seeing the Mother Superior being followed by a couple, nervous smiles and bright eyes. Mother Superior is also smiling, the smile Mary knows means she’ll be leaving shortly.

She turns back, hoping to talk to Sister Anne before being taken to a new foster home, but she’s talking to a man at the back entrance, deep in conversation and not paying attention to anything else. Mary sighs, before being swept away to pack her belongings in a small backpack that still has some room at the top, and sent off to try a new home.

She returns less than a month later, a little bit angrier and a lot more closed off, but still hoping to find the warm hug of Sister Anne. Running through the halls, searching through every room, Skye asks Sister Evelyn where she is.

“Oh I’m sorry dear. Sister Anne has left St. Agnes. Something about finding the love of her life and wanting to start a family of her own.”

Mary feels something inside her drop. She nods, turning away and running back down the hall to her newly assigned bunk.

Family of her own. Mary understood that.

////////

At age nine, Mary is placed with the Brodys.

At first it’s another new home, another new family, another new bed before she’s sent back to St. Agnes. It’s her third time being placed with a foster family, and she knows how the story will go. She’ll mess up, do something wrong, and then she’ll be sent back.

It’s easier to just get it over with.

On her second night, The Brodys, a husband and wife, still young but with old eyes, and Mary sit at the table to eat dinner. They say a prayer, hands clasped in each other as they thank God for the food and then serve the meal. Mary stays silent, still unsure if talking is acceptable at the table. Then Mrs. Brody- Erin, Mary remembers being told to call her- tries to ask her about what she likes, what she dislikes, and anything else about her. Some of the questions Mary doesn’t know the answer to; she’s never been to an amusement park and she rarely got to pick what was on the TV. But Erin continues asking, and Mary talks more, excitement making her squirm in her seat. She gestures wildly as she tells a story from school, wide eyed that the Brodys are smiling at her, watching her talk, when her hand hits her glass that’s too close to the edge of the table, sending it crashing down to the floor.

Mary freezes. She waits for the flash of disapproval, yelling or screaming, and she gets off her chair, chanting “I’m sorry, sorry, sorry,” but a soft hand stops her from picking up the glass.

“Let’s get a broom to clean this up, okay? Don’t touch the glass,” Erin says, using her free hand to wipe away the tears falling from Mary’s eyes. Skye nods, pulling her hand away, holding the dust pan as Erin carefully moves the glass into it. She helps Mary throw it into the trash bin, before asking if she wants any dessert.

The next two weeks are a whirlwind. The Brodys almost never yell, and when they do it’s Dylan yelling at the umpires on the screen, and Erin only yells at her once when she swings too high at the playground. Erin hugs her after, explaining she was just scared that Mary was going to get hurt.

Mary hugs her back instead of hugging herself.

It’s almost a month of living with the Brodys, and Mary is more comfortable than she’s ever been. She never wants for food, school is becoming fun, and there isn’t a bruise on her body from someone gripping her arm too hard or an older kid lashing out.

It’s almost Mother’s Day, and the kids at school talk about their plans with their parents. Some are going to brunch, others a short trip with their family. Mary listens to how easily they say _mom_ and _dad;_ she thinks about how easy they would be to say to the Brodys. Sunday marks Mother’s Day, and Mary thinks a good present would be trying out the word again.

(The day after she finds herself back on her way to St. Agnes. She thought the tears in Mrs. Brodys’ eyes were happy, but as it turns out, it was that Mary saying “mom” _just wasn’t a good fit_.)

/////////

On her sixteenth birthday, Skye hands in the forms to drop out of high school.

For the last time, she writes “Mary Sue Poots” on a form. The secretary barely looks at her when she hands her the paperwork, forged signatures on the guardian lines, then turns her back to the building.

Everything she could consider hers is in her bag or stored in the van. She takes the cross off her neck and throws it away.

She doesn’t know where to go or how to get there, but she knows she’s never turning back.

///////

Miles becomes the first person she could call family.

Neither of them have ever had a family in the traditional sense; Miles’ mother was a drunk and his father probably didn’t even know their address, and Skye couldn’t even give a maiden name.

He taught her about computers, and she taught him to survive. Miles set out from his family home to find a life for himself, but knew nothing beyond what he saw online. They were so different, but he held her close at night and knew how to encourage her to learn more. They helped build each other up, little by little, until they could stand on their own if they wanted.

Skye decided she wanted to.

When she mentions to him that she wants to infiltrate SHIELD, at first he’s burning with passion at leaking secrets from the largest secret keeper in the world. But when she tells him it’s to find her family, to see if they know anything about her parents, he storms away from the van and doesn’t come back until the following morning.

They separate, saying goodbyes with promises to find their way back, before Skye begins her drive to Los Angeles and Miles looks for a new place to live.

(After everything is finished and Miles leaves for good Skye cries for the loss of the one person she could call home.)

///////

Skye hides the moment they arrive back at the Playground.

She finds solace in the quinjet, tucking herself into the pilot seat. Skye curls into herself,

She _had_ it. A mom, a dad, people. A community that she was a part of. And within minutes, it was ripped away.

She feels the vibrations of the entire base, can sense every person moving around. She thinks back to the words her mom- _Jiaying_ \- talking her through her powers. She remembers the kind words and tender touches.

Skye wipes her eyes, sniffling and cleaning her face. She senses someone coming, most likely looking for her. She sits up, lowering her legs to the floor and her arms to her sides.  A few seconds later, May appears in the entry to the cockpit.

She doesn’t say a word. May sits in the co-pilot seat, staring straight ahead.

“I’m going to be leaving for my trip soon.”

Skye continues to look ahead. “I heard.”

They sit silent for another minute. May stands, but before leaving, holds out a small piece of paper.

“Call if you need me, alright?”

Skye finally looks at her S.O., nodding and taking the slip of paper. May leaves the cockpit without another word.

Skye resumes her previous position thinking back to her relationship with May. Siding with the Inhumans should have destroyed their relationship. For a brief moment it did.

But May forgave her. Pulled her back up, stood by her in a fight.

Tried to make the hard call so Skye wouldn’t have to.

Skye thinks back to all the training sessions, May being so incredibly passionate about teaching her to be an agent. She considers how May taught her to shoot, how to fight, how to keep control in every situation.

When the Kree warrior and Lady Sif tried to take her, May protected her. Panicked when Skye shot herself with the ICER.

She helped Skye ice her sore muscles after a particularly hard training session. Tried to give her every benefit of the doubt when Skye found the Inhumans.

Skye watches on as Andrew and May drive out of the hangar. May is smiling, a real one that Skye has so rarely seen on her face.

Skye stands, leaving the cockpit. She’s still hurting, but it’s nice to know that May will be reachable if necessary.

Skye lost her mother. She lost her father.

But that didn’t mean she lost her family.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at skye-kru on tumblr if you want to come be emotional about Skye with me.


End file.
